by Anna Jacobs
He smiled at the outline of the sleeping woman beside him. So much for his intention of making Cara his wife in more than name once they had the privacy of their own bedroom.
Well, that had waited for over two months. It could wait a little longer. Not too long, he hoped. He found her very attractive.
A yawn surprised him and he let himself follow her into sleep.
The following day Bram and Isabella took their visitors to see the Bazaar. Bram tried to hide his pride in his achievement, worried that it’d make his brother feel worse. But he couldn’t avoid taking them to see it, of course he couldn’t.
Fergus looked round in amazement. ‘I hadn’t expected it to be so big.’
‘I sometimes have to pinch myself,’ Bram admitted. ‘Is this really mine? I think.’ He saw his brother relax a little at that.
‘Let’s leave the men on their own. Come and look at my part of the Bazaar.’ Isabella took Cara and Mrs Grady across to look at her silks.
‘I never saw anything as beautiful,’ the old woman said. ‘Could I be touching one, do you think? I won’t mark it. My hands are clean and they’ve lost their roughness after two months without scrubbing.’
‘Of course you can touch them. Here. This is a heavier silk, makes up well into skirts and bodices. And this is a very light one, often used to make wraps for hot summer evenings.’
Ma ran one fingertip across the materials. ‘They’re so beautiful, my dear, to touch as well as to look at. I’m glad to have felt what silk is like.’
Seeing the other woman’s simple pleasure and lack of envy, Cara vowed to herself that one day she’d buy Ma a length of silk and make her a dress for going to church. And she’d wear silk again herself. What’s more, if Isabella could help her husband, so could she.
‘Do you need to get on with your work now?’ Fergus asked his brother. ‘I can remember the way back to your house. We don’t want to get in your way.’
‘No, no. My assistant Freddie can cope. I’d rather stay with you. We’ve a lot of time to make up, haven’t we?’
They fell silent, looking at one another almost shyly, then both smiled at the same time.
‘It’s different here when we have a new shipment come in,’ Bram went on. ‘I couldn’t leave the Bazaar then. We put an advertisement in the newspapers about what we’ve got for sale and people flock to buy things before they run out. I’d definitely be needed here then. It’s not like England or Ireland, with goods coming in all the time. It’s the ships that bring most of them to Fremantle.’
‘Everything here seems to depend on ships,’ Fergus said thoughtfully.
‘It does. Even getting to the other side of Australia, since there are no roads across the country.’
‘One day they’ll have a railway, I should think. They’re building them all over the world.’
‘It’ll be longer for a railway line to be built to the west. Why would they make a railway two thousand miles long to reach only thirty thousand people? It sometimes feels as if we’re in a different country from Sydney.’
Fergus nodded. ‘You read about Australia being bigger than Britain, but until you get here, you don’t realise how big it is.’
‘So … until Adam returns in the Bonny Ismay, they can manage without me for the odd hour or two and I can spend time with you,’ Bram said.
‘He called his ship after our sister?’
‘Yes. Isn’t that wonderful?’
‘It is, yes. Is she happy with him?’
‘Very happy. I think we’ve all been lucky in who we’ve married. Me with Isabella and Maura with Hugh. Was your marriage to Eileen happy?’
Fergus only shrugged, so Bram didn’t pursue that. ‘Cara seems a lovely person.’
‘She is.’
‘We have to call in on Aunt Maura and Hugh. I promised we would do that today.’
‘I’m looking forward to seeing her again. What’s that on the shelf?’
Bram turned so quickly he stumbled over a floorboard that had come loose at one edge and Fergus had to steady him. He clicked his tongue in exasperation. ‘I must get someone to come and fix that. I don’t want customers tripping and hurting themselves. One of the sellers dropped a big box here and damaged some of the floorboards. They need resetting, I think. Or something. What do I know about carpentry?’
Fergus brightened. ‘I can do that for you.’
‘Can you? I’d be very grateful. As I told you, it’s hard to find good tradesmen. It’s not a big job, but it’s annoying me. One man promised to come to fix it, but didn’t turn up. The wood has shrunk since the floor was laid, I think, and some other parts are a bit uneven. I suppose we must expect that sort of thing in a hot climate. Could you fix anything that needs doing while you’re at it?’
‘Oh, yes. I can go over the whole floor and check it out.’
‘Done!’ Bram stuck out his hand and they shook on the bargain. ‘As long as you let me pay you.’
‘I’ll not. You’re feeding us all. That’s enough.’
‘But—’
Isabella had been listening and now walked across to dig Bram in the ribs. ‘Stop arguing,’ she said. ‘Let your brother help you.’
He grinned at Fergus. ‘All right, then. No payment, I have to do as my wife tells me. She’s a terrible nag. So I’ll just say thank you and be grateful for your help.’
‘I can start on it today.’
‘Tomorrow,’ Bram said firmly. ‘We’re due at Maura’s this afternoon, so I’ll show you round the town now.’’
Before they left, Fergus walked round the Bazaar, studying the floor. ‘I’ll have to bring my tools.’
‘They looked heavy. We’ve got a little hand trolley somewhere in the back room.’ Bram turned to his assistant. ‘Freddie, do you know where the trolley is? My brother needs it to bring over his tools. He’s going to fix our floor for us.’
‘That’ll be grand, Mr Deagan,’ Freddie said. ‘I worry someone will trip.’
Fergus began walking round, with Bram beside him still. ‘We’ll need some new timber here and there. Where would I be finding that?’
‘My friend Mitchell Nash has a timber yard. I can take you there, but you will have to do the choosing. I’m better at dealing with horses than woodworking, which is why we’ve kept the livery stables just down the slope. I’ve a fellow manages them for me. There are a few little rooms there for grooms and such. He sees to all that. It’s where I’m storing Rémi’s things.’
‘You have a livery stable as well?’ Fergus asked in surprise.
Bram shrugged. ‘With Conn. I don’t own this piece of land, you know. He does. So he gets a share of the profits. The stables were already there when he bought it.’
Fergus focused on the floor again. ‘I’ll need some paper to write a list. Do you have a pencil?’
Bram provided one and soon found his brother did more talking to himself and didn’t seem to hear half of what was said to him, so Bram went to see Cara. ‘I can’t get Fergus away from the floor now.’
She looked across at her husband. ‘I think he’s missed having something to do. He loves fixing things.’
‘Do you want to walk round the town and leave him to it?’
She gave him a rueful smile. ‘I think we’ll have to.’
‘He didn’t need to start work straight away,’ Bram told Pa quietly. ‘We would have liked to give him time to settle in here first.’
‘I know that. But Fergus is one who needs to work, needs to feel he’s supporting his family,’ Pa replied, just as quietly. ‘It’s fretting him not to have a job. He’s not a man for reading books and such, let alone sitting around all the time. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll leave him to it. If he feels he’s paying our way in your house, he’ll be a lot happier. You’ll see. Aha.’
‘What’s the matter?’
‘There’s nothing wrong at all. It’s just that Fergus is whistling. That means he’s enjoying what he’s doing. It used to drive my Eileen ma
d, but I like to hear it.’
‘Well, when people find out that we have a new carpenter in town, he’ll get plenty more offers of work, believe me,’ Bram said. ‘Too many, probably.’
‘Good.’ Pa smiled across at his son-in-law, then turned back to his host. ‘It’s machinery your brother likes best, though. He used to love working on the railways. And those engineers had a lot of respect for him.’
Bram sighed. ‘I think it’ll be a long time before we have railways here.’
‘Such a pity. That upset him when he found out.’
They went to stand in the doorway and Pa lifted his face to the sun.
‘Not too hot for you?’ Bram asked.
‘Ah, no. I’ve been cold so often, I’d never complain about being too hot.’
So Bram took everyone else for a walk round the neighbourhood, not going too far, because Fergus had said he’d be only half an hour.
Afterwards he left his new relatives at the house and went back to the Bazaar to see his brother. ‘Everything all right?’
Fergus smiled, the genuine smile of a man feeling happy. ‘I’ve checked the whole floor, and we’ll need a dozen or so more pieces of wood.’
‘We’ll go round to my friend Mitchell Nash’s timber yard.’
Mitchell and Fergus were soon talking about wood, most of their talk going over Bram’s head. He watched his brother, mildly surprised to see the respectful way Mitchell was listening to him as the two men exchanged views on timber for flooring.
They were lucky to find some used planks, which Fergus said would fit better once the old nails were pulled out and the wood sanded. New wood might shrink and change colour.
‘Your brother knows what he’s talking about,’ Mitchell said as they were leaving. ‘I can find him work any time, and so I told him.’
Bram nodded, pleased by this compliment.
Fergus smiled happily as they walked along.
Bram glanced sideways. This made a better start, he thought. He’d learned quite a few things about his brother today, Fergus’s fierce independence for one.
It took time to get to know someone, and Fergus was more like a stranger than a close relative. Bram hadn’t expected that, had expected somehow to continue as the older brother, guiding a younger one in new ways.
Which was stupid.
He hoped he could keep the improved feeling between them. People were never easy. Even the nicest ones had their foibles.
The Deagans walked round to Maura and Hugh’s house that afternoon. Ma and Pa insisted on staying behind, because this was a family reunion.
‘But you’re family now,’ Bram protested.
‘We’re starting to be. But you’ll be better on your own today,’ Ma said. ‘Now leave that baby with us and get off with you. Me and Pa will have a nice rest while you’re gone and maybe a stroll along the street. She likes to have things to look at, our Niamh does.’
This time each brother had his wife on his arm, and their four children were with them, so there weren’t any awkward silences.
Maura opened the door herself, stood for a moment staring at Fergus, then burst into tears and flung her arms round him.
She pulled away quickly, mopping her eyes and trying to smile. ‘I promised myself not to weep all over you, but I couldn’t help it. It’s wonderful to see you again, and looking so well.’
Her husband stepped forward. ‘Why don’t you all come in and we’ll do the introductions there?’
As Fergus went into the parlour, he stopped dead at the sight of Ryan. There was no mistaking another Deagan. ‘Ryan? I can’t believe you’re so grown up. You were a little child when I last saw you.’
He looked at the girl standing next to Ryan. ‘And you must be Noreen. I don’t think we ever met.’
She smiled shyly. ‘It feels strange to have a new brother.’
It felt strange to him to have a little sister who didn’t speak with much of an Irish accent at all. ‘We’ll remedy that now, get to know one another.’ He introduced the rest of the newcomers and they all sat down.
But it was the women who led most of the conversation and filled the awkward silences, not only by words but by passing plates full of delicious cakes and scones.
Inevitably, Ryan started chatting to the two younger boys who were his nephews and Fergus could see that he was finding that easier than chatting to the stranger who was his older brother.
At one stage Fergus wandered over to the piano, which he’d been trying to resist. ‘Can I give it a quick try?’
‘You play?’ Hugh asked.
‘I do.’
‘And he has a beautiful voice,’ Cara said proudly.
Hugh beamed at him. ‘Will you give us a song, then? We all love music.’
Fergus shrugged and sat down at the piano. As soon as he started to play, he forgot all the awkwardness and lost himself in the music.
When people began clapping at the end of the song, he jerked back to awareness of where he was and smiled back at them.
‘Why don’t we have a sing-song?’ Maura suggested.
But when they did begin to sing, Fergus stopped, wincing. ‘I’d forgotten your singing, Bram. You’ve got no better. Could you maybe be our audience?’
Isabella chuckled. ‘That’s what I tell him. I can’t stop him humming round the house when he’s happy but I’ve trained him to do it quietly.’
‘What a loving wife!’ Bram said, grinning. ‘All right. I’ll keep my mouth shut and listen to the rest of you.’
Later, when the visitors had left, Hugh led the way back into the parlour, with one arm round his wife’s shoulders. ‘There are a lot of bridges to be built between brothers and sisters. Give it time. You can’t manage their lives for them.’
She tapped her own chest. ‘And bridges need building between aunts and nephews, as well.’
He pulled her close for a hug. ‘Well, it’ll all come right in the end, I’m sure, because there’s goodwill on all sides.’
‘Oh, no!’ She looked at him in dismay.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’ve just realised I’m the great-aunt of those children. Great-aunt! How old that makes me sound.’
He began laughing helplessly at her expression of dismay. ‘My darling, you’re not a day older than you were this morning.’
She didn’t share his amusement, going to stare at herself in the mirror and mouth the word ‘great-aunt’, shaking her head at her reflection.
22
Livia woke up feeling happy, and it didn’t take her long to work out why. She was taking Rémi up to Perth today and introducing him to Mr Deeping, then she’d work in the shop she loved while Rémi wandered round Perth town centre, exploring.
It was a long time since she’d looked forward to an outing so much. She did enjoy chatting to ‘cousin Rémi’. She smiled at that thought. She wished he really was her cousin.
She got up, washed and dressed quickly, then went to check that the breakfast table was set nicely. As if Orla wouldn’t do that without needing telling! But still, Livia wanted things to be right. She’d so enjoyed the previous evening, chatting to her guest, enjoyed not being on her own.
She smiled. He even felt like a cousin, she was so comfortable with him.
More than comfortable. She’d only felt like this once in her life before and knew exactly what it meant. She didn’t try to fool herself. She was attracted to Rémi Newland. Greatly attracted.
And he was attracted to her, she could tell, but did he feel strongly enough to pursue their acquaintance?
How she felt only told her how right she’d been to refuse to marry again, even though some of the men she’d met had been perfectly pleasant. She’d never forgotten how the excitement of being attracted warmed your whole body and set your mind alight too.
Even in the early, tentative stages as you fumbled towards love.
Was she in the early stages now? She hoped so.
Rémi heard his hostess leave her bed
room and decided it was permissible to get up. He’d been lying awake for over an hour, unable to sleep, pondering his situation. What to do about Livia was the most important thing.
He’d never felt so immediately obsessed by a woman like this before and wasn’t sure whether he liked the feeling or not.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her! He’d even dreamed about her last night, like a callow youth, dreamed she was sharing his bed.
She seemed interested in him, but with a lady like her, he couldn’t enter into a careless liaison, he knew that. Anyway, he wouldn’t insult Livia by offering her only that sort of attention.
But even though this was early days, the alternative was courtship and marriage. Did he want that? He never had before. Why, she might even bear a child or two yet, and though he liked children, what sort of a father would he make?
He grimaced, not liking the thought that as a remittance man, he would be keeping a wife on another man’s money. Especially as the payments might stop at any moment, whatever contracts his uncle had signed. He didn’t trust the man.
No, however much his uncle deserved to pay for his past grasping ways, because of the way he’d exploited his nephew for years, Rémi still didn’t like being in this position of being his pensioner.
Why was he thinking so far ahead with a woman he’d known for such a short time? It was … amazing. Ridiculous.
Then he smiled. No, it wasn’t ridiculous. He not only found Livia physically attractive, but mentally fascinating. And that was an even greater attraction, somehow.
One of the things he liked best was that they could laugh together. Laughter was such a precious gift, he thought wistfully. A shared sense of humour had several times led him into close friendships. But already he wanted more than friendship from Livia. Would she want it too? Was that possible for them?
Oh, what did he know about anything? He hadn’t made a brilliant success of his life so far, had he?
And why was he lying here, letting his mind go round in circles? Throwing back the covers, he tried to concentrate on getting ready. But as he passed the mirror, he stopped to stare at himself and wish his hair wasn’t quite so thin on top, that the grey didn’t show quite so clearly against the brown, that his body wasn’t long and bony.
